Pied currawong - Strepera graculina

Pied currawongs often get a bad rap but I find them very enigmatic, and even amusing times. Hopefully this video catches some of that.
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(C) Mango-a-GoGo Productions Pty Ltd 2021.
Music used under license from bensound.com

[@anthonysallis]

They are great! They are real comedians, and often put on a big clown show at dusk, whooping and whistling and whisking here and there very energetically. I like them a lot.

[@reverseuniverse2559]

Apparently near dusk they call for regrouping you hear a chain calling reaction each one flying towards the centre of the amazing calls. I have video of a Currawong catching a deadly cane toad thrashed it around until it wasn’t struggling then turned the toad on its back and begun eating from the belly amazing footage amazing smart beautiful acrobatics in flight catching a moth with a powerful snapping beak. My favourite calling bird with so many different calls

[@anthonysallis]

@@reverseuniverse2559 their keystone cops antics at these times are brilliant, incredibly hyperactive. Feeding on the wing is what sets them apart from their black and white rivals the magpies and currawongs. When a raven lands on the roof above my balcony if the curras are around they will dive bomb it at high speed, so funny.

[@basilpunton5702]

Liked the peewee refereeing the fight. Those little birds are not afraid of anything. That includes crocodiles.

[@birdbites]

Yes that was funny wasn't it!

[@user-kq8if3ud5e]

Peewee are incredible flyers. At a crocodile farm near Darwin they eat the bits of food that are splattered from the sloppy destruction by the crocs. Also kites want this food. When a kite comes down to take food of the Peewee (perhaps take the peewee), the peewee does a circle flight that is basically sideways around the wing of the kite.

[@Bottle-OBill]

I love the Currawong's call, and how each population has it's own song, varying from haunting to blissful. The population in south-east Toowoomba where I used to live years ago had a beautifully soothing song, hearing the whole lot of them ring out and echo through the foggy suburban hills on a chilly September morning is one of the reasons I loved living in that area.

[@birdbites]

I know what you mean - I live close to Toowoomba and find the Currawong's call very evocative in the late afternoon with the cooling temperature and orange light from the setting sun

[@binoodle511]

I quite like currawongs, despite my grandads constant bemoaning of them. They're quite interesting birds and I can't help planting trees that produce berries they like.

[@birdbites]

I agree - I like them too - and we shouldn't really be judgemental about their habits

[@Varza]

That footage at the end is hilarious. They seem more paranoid about their surroundings than each other!

[@birdbites]

Yes, something made them look up - I can't remember what it was, I think it was a magpie calling

[@dannisan77]

I love their beautiful whistling sound.

[@carcaridon]

I made the mistake of reply whistling to one about 10 years ago. I'm only a couple of years free of that booiiiiiipp booooiiiiiip that ramps up in key,volume and amount of times. Lol,it was fun the first time

[@dennylee7312]

I've almost gained the trust of one particular currawong that eats the berries off the cycads that are in the front of my house. My front yard is like a ufc arena for currawongs though. Almost daily fights almost those guys 😅

[@domm6812]

Same, there's a pair that come sit on the front railing here, looking in the window waiting for food. They learned it from the magpie pair here. I'm really surprised the currawongs would copy it though! They're no nearly as patient or trusting as the maggies but they've only just started doing it.

[@rodcampbell628]

I live in Toowoomba on Mount Lofty and while i am now in my 80,s I have been around the Currswongs here most of my life . They are clowns . There is a family of 24 birds that live in my area and they are at times all in my at yard at once . They love to play in trees that offer a large canopy . I offer them two water points in my yard which are made of concrete but very shallow. During hot weather they will stand in the water and bathe . They sre offered fresh clean water every day ...My curraeongs are spoilt as they enjoy a little beef mince to eat . They share my area mainly with pee wee , green cat birds , a range of psrrot and honey ester species and a satin bower bird that had been here some years now spendng much time building a new bower or repairing an old Bower. Our lives would be very dull without birds in Australia...

[@birdbites]

That's great Rod - what a lovely yard you must have!

[@doritoons99]

This is the first time I even heard about these birds! Very cute and fascinating creatures! 💖

[@tblk3747]

Currawong is at the bottom in my backyard among magpie, noisy miner, pigeon and crested pigeon. Magpie is the boss follow by pigeon, crested pigeon, miner. Currawong is timid and sneaky

[@zoefarris2409]

That was fascinating, thank you.

[@darylcheshire1618]

in Portarlinton at an outdoor cafe, this large bird jumped onto the table in front of me and squarked at me. I’d only arrived and had nothing to offer. I think it was a currawong. I read they can be aggressive at picnics.

[@birdbites]

Thanks for that! That would have been a surprise - I've never heard of them being super aggressive though - but that one certainly made its intentions clear :-)

[@darylcheshire1618]

@@birdbites I remember the thud noise as it plopped in front of me. I suspect it was a regular customer at that cafe.

[@noonatonga225]

My pet/wild currawong is called Garbo. It comes with it's mate every day.

[@birdbites]

Cool!

[@doublebanana-de3dt]

Excellent footage and explanation! I learned a lot and lol at the fight with pauses at the end

[@birdbites]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :-)

[@AngryAuzzie]

The currawongs and magpies in my yard all get along, except for the crows, they gang up on the crows

[@birdbites]

Poor crows!

[@JoelD212]

Excellent video!

[@lachlank.8270]

We don't get these in WA and I'm jealous hahah

[@Rottogotto]

Fantastic video

[@soniakiwi]

They look like the grackles of Australia 🦘. Beautiful 😍.

[@liamthompson9342]

O right, that must be why their specific name is graculina

[@domm6812]

Wow, yeah I've been around currawongs on and off for 40 years and I can't ever remember seeing one bathe.

[@frankcastle8508]

Son unas aves preciosas!!! Buen video!

[@birdbites]

Merci

[@darkallegiance666]

The ones that come to feed in my back yard in central Victoria are grey, with white under their tails, so are different to the ones in your film here, I think. I love them! They look like very intelligent birds, with beautiful eyes, but their eyes appear to be more silvery than the ones you showed here. Could this just be the effect of the light, perhaps, because surely their eye color is the same for both Pied & Grey? They have the same kind of fierce looking head as the ones that you filmed, but they are so quirky & character-filled. We also get sulphur-crested cockatoos, mynah birds - both native & Asian, ravens, blue-masked honey-eaters, butcher birds (wonderful, intelligent eyes), magpies, peewees, rainbow lorikeets, occasional sparrows, galahs, doves & pigeons, wild ducks, wattle birds, & no doubt I’ve forgotten some. They are all my favourites - all wild - & I live in the suburbs. Kookaburras live nearby, but don’t come to my backyard to feed. We have wonderful birds in Australia - both the native & the introduced.

[@birdbites]

What a lovely collection of birds you have there. It sounds like you definitely have Grey currawongs there, as opposed to the Pied currawongs in my video. I'm not sure with the eye colour but the juvenile birds of both species do have grey/brown eyes - so perhaps you saw one where the eye colour was transitioning to the adult colour?

[@user-kq8if3ud5e]

Mynahs are the Indian starlings. Minor are Australian native.

[@julieprior3126]

Really enjoyed this video. I learned a lot and the quality of the footage was excellent. Would like to see more like this maybe about the Australian Magpie. They are different from the Magpies we have in UK. Ours are Corvids, yours are not. But yours make a lovely noise and are quite comical in their play. Edit: just found your video on the Magpie and the Butcher Bird!

[@birdbites]

Thanks Julie for your kind words, I'm putting together a doco on Australian birds at the moment, so am holding off a lot of my footage for that, but there'll be plenty of magpie shots in there

[@reynard4823]

It literally looks like a Pied Butcherbird stuck together with a Currawong Bruh

[@birdbites]

I guess cause they are closely related

[@strider9184]

Never saw a currawong in my life until one day I managed to capture a magpie that had wiring trapped around both its legs and freed it of the wiring but it had lost a toe because of how tight it was wrapped around its foot and she has remained crippled since. The magpie comes back with her husband (I assume 😂) every day and they wait at the back door patiently for us to feed them as the crippled magpie can’t get around very easily. But ever since we started feeding them the backyard has been swarming with currawong & crows trying to swoop in and steal what we throw to her. She’s gradually getting better and starting to walk/limp a bit but it’s so annoying trying to give her food & watching her get swooped by other birds 😢

[@birdbites]

That's a lovely story, so good of you to look after her. Don't get too stressed by the Currawongs swooping - all things being equal, away from the feeding site, the maggies will be bossing the currawongs around

[@carcaridon]

If they could stop this infighting and the hate toward each other, then who knows what they could achieve.?

[@birdbites]

LOL true!

[@PoliceMalachi]

I have a wild pet currawong that comes and I feed him grapes I called him strawberry’s he use to eat strawberry’s but now he eats grapes.

[@birdbites]

that's awesome!

[@willywatto2582]

Not fighting there mating 😂

[@kestrelsandcrows6871]

Nice video, thank you. The fight appears highly ritualised, not really hurting each other.

[@birdbites]

Yes - I agree - definitely play fighting - I didn't quite realise that to begin with

[@juliehowe3]

“Fighting” methinks is more prelude to mating.

[@birdbites]

Not sure - I've never seen this kind of behaviour before or since with Currawongs - but it's not unusual for Passerine birds

[@liamthompson9342]

I see currawongs by themselves most of the year but around now (August) they seem to have little gatherings where they swoop and call repeatedly. Do you know what that's about?

[@birdbites]

That's often in relation to fruiting trees

[@liamthompson9342]

@@birdbites o rly, that makes sense, thank you

[@dannysupple9987]

Does anybody know why they regurgitate back into the water i give them ?

[@birdbites]

I suspect its just because they feel safe there. The gastric pellets are things they can't digest so I doubt they're softening the material up. Birds are quite vulnerable when they're bringing up pellets so will tend do it in the same place and where they feel safe

[@Watson1]

What is the birds name. I don’t think you mentioned it.

[@birdbites]

Pied currawong?

[@user-kq8if3ud5e]

The Peewee didn't like them fightig.

[@birdbites]

That was interesting wasn't it, I wonder what it was thinking?

[@Watson1]

It’s a pity that you didn’t tape them singing.

[@birdbites]

Yes I stopped putting music on these clips a while ago - I have recorded some Pied currawong calls here mango-a-gogo.com/2021/01/24/bird-calls-of-the-toowoomba-region/

[@sk13ppy]

Why do you have to ruin your own video with music? Can't you records Currawong calls?

[@birdbites]

Yes you're quite right and I did stop making videos like this with the music after only I did a few of them. I have got some Currawong calls recorded and available on this page mango-a-gogo.com/2021/01/24/bird-calls-of-the-toowoomba-region/ which I'll be migrating over to the birdbites blog soon (birdbites.com.au)

[@sk13ppy]

@@birdbites That's much better, thanks. You're awesome and so are the birds who always deserve to be heard without manmade noises!

[@ianalen1687]

stupid creators need to shove music everywhere

[@birdbites]

Yeah don't worry I soon changed my mind about doing that